Posted by Pastor Pat on March 3, 2010
Read Ephesians 1:3-14
Throughout this short letter, Paul speaks of God’s superabundant activities flowing from Himself to His people. Such words as “rich, lavish, surpassing greatness, surpassing riches, unfathomable riches, surpasses knowledge and far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (1:7, 8, 18, 19; 2:4, 7; 3:8, 16, 18, 19, 20) are employed in an attempt to capture the magnitude of God’s person and work to redeem His people from sin’s debt and to adopt them as sons. All of this was written by Him into His story (1:4, 5, 9, 11, 21; 2:7, 10; 3:11).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on January 23, 2010
The church of Ephesus played a significant role in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. By simply noting the occurrences of the city in the New Testament it becomes apparent that the church of Ephesus was a prominent center for the apostle Paul and the apostle John. Let us consider the following verses as they are found in the New Testament record:
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 8, 2009
Read Ephesians 5:1-6
There is an element of perplexity offered to us in the text. Is it possible for those who have the inheritance to become disinherited? Is it possible for those who are citizens of His kingdom to be expelled from its realm? There is a weight to what faces us in this text that must not and cannot be negated. Paul speaks to the Ephesians and reminds them that if in Adam behavior characterizes their lives then they are in real danger of losing their inheritance and becoming outcasts of His kingdom.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on November 20, 2009
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
The intent of this article is to show how what we once were in Adam we no longer are, but still have. Paul’s point from the beginning of the letter all the way through chapter 3 is to note how those who were once in sin’s debt and alienated from God are now redeemed from sin and adopted into God’s family. He is their Father and they are His children.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on November 5, 2009
Read Ephesians 1:15-23
In order to treat this passage appropriately, it must be read in light of what was just stated in 1:3-14: God as a trinity in the totality of His essence and energy redeemed His people from sin’s debt by forgiving their sins and then adopted them as His sons and daughters. All of this was freely bestowed and lavishly dispensed.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on October 31, 2009
“ He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.”
(Psalm 107:29)
Have you ever felt as if you have no control over your life? It is the kind of feeling you get that wakes you up in the middle of the night and refuses to let you sleep. The emotion you experience is probably the same as one whose parachute is not opening even though every possible chord is pulled. Regardless as to what you might think and what others might tell you, the ‘feeling’ you have is less than ideal and your emotional stability is shot. When we find ourselves sucked into the vortex of the storm, what are we to do?
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Posted by Pastor Pat on October 25, 2009
2 Corinthians 9:6
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in every thing, you may have an abundance for every good deed;
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Posted by Pastor Pat on October 19, 2009
“Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22)
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Posted by Pastor Pat on September 23, 2009
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36
Perhaps one of the most painful experiences in life occurs when you are personally misrepresented or maliciously attacked through verbal assault. Such things are sourced in either, the world, the flesh or the devil. None of it is any good. It will come through one of two channels either the saved or the unsaved. Both are painful. However to have the attack come from a brother or sister in Christ is self-destructive and bitter cannibalism. Nowhere in the Scripture is such action justified. I would like to answer two questions concerning personal slander. First, what is slander? And second, how are we to respond to slander?
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Posted by Pastor Pat on August 20, 2009
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, but the fruit of the Spirit is . . .”
(Galatians 5:19-23)
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 28, 2009
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another,
because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 14, 2009
Read Mark 8:10-21
In this short study, I would like us to consider the biblical warning to “watch out” and “beware.” The word “watch out” is used three times in Mark’s Gospel (1:44; 8:15, 24). It is only here where it is used with the force of an imperative. Mark uses the word for “beware” fourteen times. It is used with force in Mark 4:24; 12:38; 13:5, 9, 23, and 33.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 10, 2009
Read Mark 8:1-9
I believe it is important to keep our Lord’s movements in mind when reading the various stories. Jesus is in the Decapolis and is speaking to a predominately Gentile audience. It is important to remember the continued conflict with the religious leaders and political authorities. He has come to His own people first and then begins reaching out to the Gentile world. In the world in which Jesus lived, everyone who is non-Jewish is Gentile. Mark shows how Gentiles are included in the story of God. Mark opens this idea with Jesus addressing the Pharisees on the topic of “clean versus unclean.” He then heals a Canaanite woman’s daughter of a demon. He continues His handling of the unclean Gentiles by healing a deaf and mute man. To show equality among the Jews and Gentiles, He repeats His feeding miracles among a predominately Gentile audience. His actions do not negate Jewish primacy. Jesus did not forget that it was to the Jew and through the Jew that God’s revelation and divine incarnation would take place. Such action on His part reflects an impartial worldview. In fact, His actions always reflect a Christian worldview. Often I think as Christians we need to be reminded that a Christian worldview is a Christ worldview. His worldview is to be reflected by and represented in our worldview. It is not the other way around. Sometimes I, we, confuse our nationalism, our patriotism, our tribal instinct, our religious experience for a biblical worldview. What is His worldview? What is a Christian worldview? WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 6, 2009
Read Mark 7:31-37
This narrative continues to celebrate the innate goodness of God. Regardless as to what our thoughts and opinions might be concerning Jesus, they must conclude with the idea that He is good. It is because He is good that what He does is good. It cannot be otherwise. In our present passage, Jesus heals an individual who is both deaf and speechless. His inability to hear contributed to his inability to speak. Regardless as to the condition, it was just cause for our Lord to act and, in acting, to display His power over all disease. In so doing, His status as Messiah continues to be established. In commenting on the grammatical structure of this statement, A.T. Robertson notes how, “The present perfect active shows the settled convictions of these people about Jesus.” Jesus was never charged with doing evil. Everything He did was “good.”
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 2, 2009
“Even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”
Read Mark 7:24-30
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